The present invention relates to facsimile communication devices, communication systems and facsimile communication methods.
Facsimile devices have been utilized for numerous years to provide convenient transfer of documents between remotely located positions. Additional communication methods have been subsequently introduced for use in conjunction with facsimile devices to provide increased flexibility for facsimile data transfer between various remote locations.
For example, PC-Fax communication systems provide a personal computer having an appropriate card added as hardware to provide parallel functions of a facsimile device utilizing the personal computer. More specifically, such configured personal computers can take a text file or a binary file (e.g., a word processor file) and convert the data into a format suitable for transmission to a receiving facsimile device. The personal computer and receiving or destination facsimile device conduct communications in accordance with standard facsimile communication procedures.
Other expanded communication techniques provide even further communication capabilities for facsimile devices. For example, appropriately configured facsimile devices can communicate email messages to the Internet. Exemplary facsimile communication systems utilize Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) as the transport for providing email messages to the Internet. Actual line protocol provides modulated signals upon the associated telephone line. An exemplary line protocol is Point-To-Point Protocol (PPP) to facilitate Internet Protocol transport. Point-To-Point Protocol provides such communications to the Internet utilizing a high-speed data modem.
While offering increased flexibility, such configurations have the associated drawback of requiring the use of relatively expensive hardware, such as the high-speed data modem for example. Further, common facsimile device configurations may require some alteration (i.e., the use of additional or different hardware) to implement additional functionality as opposed to the utilization of ubiquitous facsimile device configurations.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a facsimile communication device comprises: a first input configured to receive a nonfacsimile destination designator; a second input configured to receive data to be communicated to an address identified by the nonfacsimile destination designator; a processor configured to provide the nonfacsimile destination designator within a facsimile protocol file; and a facsimile modem coupled with the second input and adapted to communicate, using facsimile protocol communications, the data and the facsimile protocol file.
Another aspect of the invention provides a communication system comprising: a facsimile device including a facsimile modem and the facsimile device being configured to receive a nonfacsimile destination designator and data to be communicated to an address identified by the nonfacsimile destination designator, the facsimile device being further configured to provide the nonfacsimile destination designator into a facsimile protocol file and to communicate, using facsimile protocol communications, the data and the address identified by the facsimile protocol file to a communication network using the facsimile modem; and a communication network adapted to direct the data to the address identified by the nonfacsimile destination designator.
A facsimile communication method according to another aspect comprises: providing a facsimile communication device including a facsimile modem; receiving a nonfacsimile destination designator within the facsimile communication device; receiving data to be communicated to an address identified by the nonfacsimile destination designator within the facsimile communication device; providing the nonfacsimile destination designator within a facsimile protocol file; and communicating, using facsimile protocol communications, the data and the facsimile protocol file using the facsimile modem.
Other features and advantages of the invention will become apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art upon review of the following detailed description, claims and drawings.